Connection
by sandman7734
Summary: She tried to push him away. She tried to deny her feelings. But Samara will soon learn that the heart is stronger than the mind. Shepard/Samara oneshot. Revised edition.


**I have been playing Mass Effect 2 even more recently, and I am slightly miffed that there is no Samara romance. So, to make up for that, here is my idea of how the romance would be. Personally, I'm a Tali/Shepard guy. But I thought this would be interesting to write. **

**And to be honest, I was inspired by TheEpicFail3000's story, "Accept It", also demonstrating a Shepard/Samara relationship. I did not rip it off, I was just inspired. He did an excellent job, so if you like this story, read that one too.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Mass Effect, or anything relatively that cool. Which is why I cry myself to sleep every night.**

**REVISED: After reading some of your reviews and complaints, I went back and made a few changes to the story. Hope I did good.**

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400 years. That's how long the chase had lasted. That's how long Samara the Justicar had been chasing her murderous daughter, Morinth. 400 years of travel, battle, and justice. And now, it was all over. Morinth was dead, and Samara was finally at peace. All thanks to one man.

Commander Wade Shepard.

She had met the Commander in a rather bizarre moment (right after she broke the neck of an asari mercenary, as a matter of fact). After establishing that they were allies, they worked out a deal: if the Commander found the name of the ship that Morinth escaped on, she would join his team. And he had pulled through spectacularly.

Not too long after, Samara tracked Morinth to Omega. And she had trusted only one person with the dark secret of Morinth's lineage. She told the Commander about her daughter, and how she needed for the chase to end. For her sake, and for the galaxy's. Shepard pulled through again, luring Morinth in with his particular charm. He had managed to distract the Ardat-Yakshi until Samara arrived. And in an instant, the hunt was over. Samara had killed her eldest child.

But there was something else; something that Samara kept contemplating over and over again. When she first laid eyes on Shepard, standing there with the utmost confidence, commanding respect from all who saw him, including Samara herself. And she had felt a strange feeling towards him. She hadn't felt that way since...

Before Samara could ponder any farther, the door behind her opened. Samara was deep in her meditation, as usual, her eyes glowing blue and a sphere of biotic energy hovering in front of her. The Justicar smiled slightly as she delivered her normal greeting: "Shepard."

Indeed, it was the Commander. He was one of the few people on the ship who visited her frequently. Samara ceased her meditation, the blue sphere vanishing and her eyes returning to their natural look. "I thought we could chat a bit," the Commander offered. Talking with Shepard had been calming for Samara. She truly appreciated and enjoyed their conversations, as it allowed her to vent so many unsaid things. And it was the only way that she had grown to trust the Commander.

"I would like that," Samara responded to the offer, standing and walking over to the window, the view of space greeting her eyes. She found it slightly ironic. Only two things in the galaxy had ever given her true peace. The dark, quiet void of space, and Commander Shepard. Now she had both in the same room.

Shepard walked up to the window and stood next to Samara, the two enjoying a few seconds of silence in each others company. Samara decided to break the silence.

"You have been a good friend to me, Shepard. You have brought me a peace that I can not describe. One for which I could never truly repay you," Samara said, looking at the Commander with her sapphire eyes, giving him one of her rare smiles.

The Commander turned and gazed into her sapphire eyes with his emerald ones. "That means a lot to me Samara. But I feel like there's more than friendship between us," Shepard replied. Samara felt her heart begin racing as the Commander took her hands in his own.

"I never believed one so young could touch me..." Samara began, smiling. While Samara hadn't been able to truly understand it before, it was only after they hunted Morinth down that she had finally realized something: she was developing feelings for Shepard. But she couldn't be with him, a fact that caused her great pain. It caused even more pain when she spoke again.

"But you must put the thought from your mind Shepard. It can never be," she told him. However, she did not remove her hands from his. She couldn't.

Then Samara saw something in the Commander's eyes. A fire. The same fire that had lured Morinth into the open. Shepard wasn't going to give up without a fight.

"Samara, it _can_ be. You just have to open your mind," Shepard said, hoping break down the walls Samara was erecting. But she, too, wasn't going down easily.

"I serve a code stronger and deeper than any feelings, Shepard. Once this mission is over, and if I survive, my oath to you ends. I will be bound to the Code again. And that makes a relationship impossible," Samara explained, hoping the Commander would finally cease his efforts. It was a false hope.

"You've been alone for too long. You've managed to keep tight control. But you still have needs Samara," Shepard countered.

"I have the strength to overcome my own drives, Shepard."

"Samara, you don't _have _to. The galaxy isn't going to end just because you find happiness."

The Justicar warrior looked deep into the Commander's emerald eyes. She knew the truth: She had fallen in love with Shepard. It was not a simple attraction or a crush. It was true love.

"You are different from any other being I have ever met. You could provide me with even more than happiness. But please, Shepard, my self-control is who I am. Don't pursue this."

It was the wrong thing to say. Samara saw the flash of victory in Shepard's eyes. Her pleading had provided an opening. "You've been strong through so much, Samara. Now it's your turn for happiness," Shepard said quietly.

Samara blinked, and Shepard saw a tear slide town her right cheek. He reached out with his thumb and rubbed the tear away. Samara gave a warm smile, closing her eyes and enjoying the feeling of the Commander's palm on her face. When she opened her eyes again, she had made her decision. Samara lunged forward, much to the Commander's surprise. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips against his, giving in to her desires. Shepard put his arms around the Justicar's back, pulling her closer as the kiss intensified.

For someone who seemed hesitant to give in to her desires, Samara was really going all out. Shepard had never been kissed like that before. But after a few seconds of heaven, the kiss was broken. Samara leaned back slightly, looking Shepard in the eyes once more.

"I have been alone for so long. I never thought I would find another..." the Justicar lamented, gently caressing Shepard's cheek with her hand. "I will be by soon, Shepard. But for now, I must return to my meditations."

The look on the asari's face showed that she wished to do something other than meditate. But she probably just needed time. The Commander gave a small smile as he released Samara from his grasp and turned to leave. When the doors closed behind Shepard, Samara felt tears of joy rise up in her eyes. _I am no longer alone, _she thought happily, wiping her eyes and seating herself back on the metal floor.

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The Commander rubbed his temples, his heart racing. The _Normandy _SR2 was en route to the Omega 4 relay. The Collectors had attacked his ship and taken his crew. Now, the Commander was going to get them back, and exact a little payback while there. Shepard made himself a promise right then: No more humans get taken. This ended _today_, no matter what happened. The Collectors were about to become an extinct race.

But the Commander's thoughts drifted when he looked at the picture on the desk. The familiar woman with the black hair... Ashley Williams. She claimed that she would be there for him. That she trusted him. But where was she now? Staying with the blind assholes in the Alliance, blaming the Collector abductions (which she had seen with her own eyes, for Christ's sake) on Cerberus. God, was she blind, or just a moron?

Shepard closed his eyes and leaned back in his seat. His thoughts drifted to an old friend... _Would you have my back, Kaidan? Would you have joined my crew?_

The Commander suddenly felt a rush of anger. He had given the life of one of his best friends, and for what? Ashley had claimed to had loved him, to had cared for him. Of course, this was right before she declared him a traitor and walking away. It had broken his heart.

Without thinking, the Commander picked up the M-9 Tempest SMG that was lying next to his terminal and pointed it at the picture. Two pulls of the trigger and ten shots later, all that was left were little bits and pieces.

Ashley was the past. Samara... His future.

As Shepard sweeped the last of the annihilated picture frame into the trash bin, the door hissed open. The Commander turned to see his asari lover enter the room, a smile on her face. Shepard stood up, happy to know that he would get at least one night with Samara before the suicide mission.

He was surprised, however, when he saw that the red pieces of jewelry normally worn on the Justicar's forehead were gone. Noticing this, Samara touched her now vacant head with her hand.

"I will not allow the mark of the Justicar to burden me tonight," she explained.

Shepard smiled as he approached her. "That means a lot to me, Samara," Shepard said honestly. The thousand-year-old asari's smile grew as she walked up to him and locked lips with her love once more. This time, they took the kiss to the highest intensity, Samara allowing access to Shepard's tongue, and vice-versa. The two didn't even part lips for two minutes, each just enjoying the fact that they were finally together. When they did stop, it was just from oxygen deprivation, nothing more.

But before they could fully enjoy their time together, Samara had to ask the question that had been nagging her mind. "I must ask you Shepard: why me?" she asked the Commander.

Shepard blinked, his face showing confusion. "Shepard, you have a beautiful, perfect human woman on board. Many woman have no doubt tried to gain your attention. But from all those women, you chose me. Why?"

The Commander looked away, trying to find a way to put his feelings into words. But it was no use, as Shepard came up short.

"Samara... We have a connection. It's difficult to explain with words..." he began, but Samara cut him off by putting two fingers on his mouth. She leaned in close until her lips were almost touching his ear. "We don't have to use words, Shepard," she said quietly, her voice dripping with desire.

Shepard grinned and took Samara gently by the hand, leading her to the bed. The two took a seat and just sat there for a few seconds, enjoying the moment. Then they jumped into action. The two began their passionate kissing once more, their tongues battling like two varren over a chuck of meat. Shepard's hands moved to Samara's waist, taking in the feeling of her firm hips. Samara, in return, began rubbing the Commander's chest. They never broke their kiss during that small rubdown.

In one fluid motion, Samara removed Shepard's shirt, showing her the man's toned muscles. "Now that's not fair," Shepard said playfully. "You see my body, but I don't get to see yours?"

Samara smiled in turn and proceeded to remove the brace around her neck. She delicately placed the piece of jewelry on the table next to Shepard's bed. And then she began to pull down her one-piece outfit. Shepard would have whistled if he weren't so amazed by her body. A thousand years obviously did not wear down her features. Her breasts were beautiful; above average size, perfectly shaped and noticeably soft. Her hard nipples were a clear indication of her arousal at the moment. However, as he still had his pants on, she too kept her lower areas out of sight.

Samara rolled on top of Shepard, and locked eyes with him again. "Are you ready, Shepard?" she asked. It was time for the melding. Time for the two lovers to become one. Shepard reached up and gently stroked the asari's cheek. "Ready when you are, Samara," he said quietly. Samara lowered her head and gave her lover a quick, loving kiss before closing her eyes. Their faces were inches apart.

Samara opened her eyes, which were now pitch-black.

"Embrace eternity."

* * *

Lying in her lover's arms, Samara enjoyed a peace she had never known. She had never experienced a melding like that (though she had been devoid of sex for 400 years). Shepard had not been lying; his feelings for her had to be felt, not spoken. Their minds had become one, each one learning more about the other. The Justicar saw many things in Shepard's mind. She actually understood the Commander's feelings for her, and she had loved it. Being recruited for the first _Normandy_, fighting the geth, protecting Elysium from batarians... But she had also seen him lose everything he knew on Mindoir. She felt a mixture of grief and fury at seeing her lover's world shattered when he was only sixteen. She vowed that if she ever found the batarians that did it, they would pay dearly.

But Samara pushed the unpleasant thoughts aside. For now, she just wanted to enjoy the feeling of calm; of Shepard's muscled arms gently wrapped around her body. She looked up to see the Commander's eyes open. He looked into her eyes and smiled. She smiled back, leaned forward, and gave Shepard another passionate kiss, slowly sliding her left hand down his chest. When the kiss broke, Shepard's eyes turned playful.

"I have a question, Samara," he said. She blinked and responded with "Very well."

"When you said Morinth wouldn't be able to resist me on Omega... Were you speaking from her point of view, or yours?" he asked, his smile growing wider. Samara gave a mischievous smile (something Shepard had never witnessed her giving) and leaned in close, placing her lips next to the Commander's left ear.

"Would you like to find out?"

Suicide mission or not, it was the greatest night of the Justicar's life. Samara knew that she never wanted to leave the Commander's side. She wished to stay with him, against Collectors, Reapers, and anything else that had the guts to pick a fight with Wade Shepard.

However, she had followed the Code of the Justicar for four centuries. It wasn't something she could just quit on a moment's notice, even for someone she loved. As she had stated earlier, if they did survive the mission, the Third Oath of Subsumation would end, and Samara would have to continue hunting down all the scum in the galaxy.

But the Justicar put those thoughts aside for another, less blissful time. If she had learned anything in her long life, it was that you should enjoy what you have while it lasts.

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**Okay, I hope that rewrite satisfied some of your objections. However, I wanted to keep the part where Shepard destroyed Ashley's picture. After all, it wouldn't have the same effect if he had simply placed it face-down or shoved it in a drawer. Anyway, review, and tell me how you feel about the changes.**


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